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Realtors scrambling after threats by board to cut access to MLS

The Toronto Real Estate Board is threatening to cut off a vital lifeline — access to the Multiple Listing Service — for realtors who continue to push the information envelope by offering sold data of homes on public websites.

The move is largely seen as aimed at a new, tech-savvy generation of realtors who believe that all MLS data — and especially sales histories of homes — should be readily accessible online, as it is on popular U.S. sites like Zillow.com and Trulia.com, which allow folks to do more of their own research.

TREB did not respond to requests for interviews.

Some realtors were scrambling this week to ensure their websites weren’t in violation of TREB rules. At least one brokerage — which counts a former TREB president and a president-elect among its realtor ranks — appears to have shut down an innovative app that, for a year, has offered sold data right to househunters’ phones.

Others were quick to point out they’ve gone to great pains to stay within the TREB rules, although they’d like for house hunters to be able to do more research from the comfort of their own computers.

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“We’d prefer to be able to provide all the information we could to consumers, including sold data, because we believe our value has gone beyond being just gatekeepers for MLS information,” said Ara Mamourian of Spring Realty, a Toronto-based virtual office website (VOW).

In two lengthy emails sent to TREB’s 40,000 members — the first dated last Oct. 22, the latest on Feb. 4 — TREB executives warn of “an increase in VOW Policy and Rules Non-Compliance incidents in the past few months.”

The first email, which is peppered with numerous words like MUST, NOT, ANY and FORMAL NOTICE — all in capital letters — warns that MLS data can be made available online only to people who have registered on the site first. Sold data cannot be on open sites — viewers must register online first — and no properties can be displayed unless the seller has given permission.

Any expired, withdrawn, pending or sold listings must be removed from the website within 24 hours.

The rules, which TREB has long maintained are meant to protect privacy, don’t apply, however, to more conventional realtors who are free to email, fax or hand that information across their desk — including a property’s sold history — to interested house hunters.

The first letter gave VOW realtors 48 hours to confirm that they were not breaking the rules.

“We will continue to monitor and search for any breaches of the VOW policy and Rules and any breaches found after this FORMAL NOTICE may result in your VOW Datafeed (of MLS information) being immediately DISABLED without further notice to you,” says the first email, signed by Imran Ahmad, TREB director of information technology.

The second letter, this one from TREB chief executive John DiMichele, is a far more measured “reminder” but warns that MLS access can be “suspended or terminated immediately and without further notice.”

The crackdown comes as TREB again prepares to go head-to-head with Ottawa’s Competition Bureau, which has been pressing the country’s largest real estate board to open up competition and MLS information.

The first challenge, initiated by former Competition Commissioner Melanie Aitken, made it all the way to the Supreme Court of Canada before legal wrangling sent the case all the way back, in essence, to square one.

A new hearing resumes in Ottawa May 25 before a competition tribunal.

Realtor John Pasalis, owner of the VOW Realosophy.com, called the letters “truly unprecedented” and has protested that TREB has created two sets of rules: More conventional realtors accused of breaking real estate rules are at least given a chance to defend themselves first.

The crackdown has played out in interesting ways. Veteran realtor Mark McLean, who takes over as TREB president in July, works for Bosley Real Estate which has been operating an app for a year now widely seen as being in violation of the VOW rules because it posts sold data.

It appears the app was shut down this week.

McLean said he was unable to comment as “it’s not my baby” and broker Tom Bosley said via email that he’s out of town.

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